Newton Fund Impact Evaluation
Contributed to the independent impact evaluation of the UK government-funded Newton Fund, working as part of Itad’s evaluation team. My role focused on the Value for Money assessment, examining evidence from research and innovation investments to assess performance and contribute to learning for future ODA-funded research and innovation programmes.
Client: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)
Location: Brazil, India, China and South Africa (remote)
Duration: February - August 2025
Services
Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
Overview
The UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology commissioned Itad to independently evaluate the longer-term outcomes and impacts of the Newton Fund, a £735 million ODA-funded programme supporting science, research and innovation partnerships with middle-income countries. The evaluation examined the Fund’s achievements, Value for Money and lessons for the design and implementation of future research and innovation programmes.
My Role
As an evaluator within the Value for Money assessment team, I contributed to the rubric-based assessment and synthesis of evidence on the performance of Newton Fund investments. My responsibilities included:
piloting and refining application of the Value for Money assessment rubric;
conducting detailed VfM assessments of research awards using primary and secondary evidence;
assessing evidence systematically against agreed VfM criteria and standards;
participating in moderation to support consistent judgements across the evaluation team;
contributing to cross-award analysis to identify patterns, findings and emerging themes; and
supporting the synthesis of Value for Money findings for the wider impact evaluation.
